


One lump or two?

by hallowtidings



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Babysitting, Gen, Jancy Fic Week, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 18:50:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallowtidings/pseuds/hallowtidings
Summary: Nancy and Jonathan babysit Holly, and Jonathan ends up having a tea party with Holly and her toys. Cuteness ensues! Written for Day One of Jancy Fic Week.





	One lump or two?

“So, Jonathan, do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Jonathan Byers raised an eyebrow suspiciously as his girlfriend got out of the car and threw him a sheepish look. “May as well start with the bad news, I guess. Go on then, what’s up?” he asked. Nancy sighed as they walked towards the Wheelers’ front door and ran a hand threw her hair impatiently. “My cousin Jessica is getting married, and my aunt asked mom to help her throw her bridal shower. It’s in Indianapolis so she’ll stay a couple of days, and she asked if we could watch Holly tonight while Mike’s at the Hendersons with the rest of the Party. I totally forgot,” she huffed, annoyed to have babysitting duty tacked onto what was going to be a cosy night in with her boyfriend.

 “Ugh, are we going to have to watch the Muppet Babies again? Or is there a new show with a horrifyingly catchy theme tune that Holly’s into now?” Jonathan asked in mock-annoyance as they entered the house. “No, really, it’ll be fine - Holly goes to bed at what, 8pm? We’ll have plenty of time to ourselves. What’s the good news?” “Oh, so getting me alone all night isn’t good enough now, huh?” Nancy asked teasingly, grinning as Jonathan turned bright red and hissed “ _Nancy!_ Your mom is _right there!_ ’ as they entered the kitchen.

“The good news,” Nancy began, as Karen Wheeler turned towards them - apparently having not heard her daughter’s less family friendly plans for the evening - “is that mom has an embarrassingly huge amount of food she made and was trying out for the shower, and is leaving behind for us to eat. Mike always eats too much pizza and candy at Dustin’s so we have enough casserole and horrifyingly Midwestern dessert salads to last us a whole nuclear winter. Or,” she smirked, “a couple of days with a Byers boy.”

 “Hey! I’m a growing boy, and I can’t help it if your mom likes feeding me! Mrs Wheeler,” Jonathan said, hands politely behind his back as he nodded at Karen in greeting.

    “Jonathan, thank you so much for helping Nancy watch Holly tonight! I always said what nice polite boys Joyce raised,” smiled Karen warmly. “There is plenty of food in so make yourself at home, Jessica is the first bride in our family for quite a while so I just had to have the _perfect_ food for the shower. Maybe I’ll get to make this for your wedding!” Karen laughed at the stunned expression on Jonathan’s face and grabbed her purse and casserole holders, before starting to head out of the house.

“Nancy, your father will be back from the golf club late because of Marty’s birthday, and he has his key so don’t wait up for him. Be good, both of you, and tell Michael to brush his teeth when he gets in! All that candy!” Karen paused as she stopped to kiss Holly goodnight, who had just wandered into the hallway. “And be good for Nancy and Jonathan sweetie, mommy will be back soon!”

And with that, Karen was gone, off to fold napkins into swans and dream of her own daughter’s wedding. Holly clattered into the kitchen in her princess dress-up shoes and beamed at her big sister and her sister’s sweet shy boyfriend. “Nancy! Jonathan! Come and play with me!” she squealed excitedly, and unable to refuse, they followed her into the lounge. “What are we playing today, Holly?” Jonathan asked, kneeling beside the assortment of dolls and stuffed toys arranged on the rug. “We’re having a tea party, like mommy has with her friends! We have tea and cookies and cake and sandwiches, Tenderheart Bear made them for us,” she answered with a solemn nod and pointed to the Care Bear toy seated beside a toy cup and saucer and playdough ‘cake’.

“Wow, a tea party! That sounds very fancy Holly, do I get an invite too? And Nancy? Hey, Nancy, come and-- HEY!” Jonathan exclaimed, as he found himself being photographed by a smirking Nancy just as he was pretending to shake hands with Chef Tenderheart Bear in thanks for the pretend treats. “That’s not fair! I just like cake!”

    “Even cake made from all the colours of playdough mixed together to make a lovely - ugh - brown colour? Made by a cartoon bear?” Nancy responded with a giggle. “ You were just being so cute, both of you, I couldn’t help it! I’ll go and get some food, and then I’ll come and join your tea party Holly, OK?”

Holly beamed and asked Nancy if she could have both mac and cheese _and_ tater tot casserole (“but no peas Nancy, yucky”), and Jonathan nodded in agreement (where did those skinny Byers boys put all those carbs and cream soup? Nancy wondered, as she made a mental note to keep some to send back for Will too).

Nancy smiled at her admittedly adorable baby sister, and her very cute boyfriend who was somehow happy to both listen to moody guitar music and play tea parties with a five year old, and went to go get their dinner for that evening. She looked back as she reached the kitchen to see Jonathan pretending to spoon sugar from the toy sugar bowl into teacups for Holly, Tenderheart Bear, Rainbow Brite, a few toy ponies, Mike’s Venkman action figure, and her old bedraggled toy elephant she won at the state fair when visiting her grandparents when she was 7. Nancy wondered how she ever got a guy as sweet as Jonathan Byers, and made a mental note to grab some actual cookies and cake for them to play with once she’d put dinner in the oven. Jonathan may be plenty sweet enough, but he really did like cake, almost as much as she loved him.


End file.
